


The Steam Pandemic

by sharknana29



Category: Lockwood & Co. - Jonathan Stroud
Genre: 1890s au i guess?, Body Horror, Body Modification, Everyone is traumatized, F/M, Science, Spoilers, a self indulgent steampunk au, amputee quill kipps, but that's definitely not happening any time soon, i just wanted my kids in 1890s clothes but then i made it edgy, many storylines at the same time? its more likely than you expect, thats all this is, the problem is everyone needs to stop fucking with shit that shouldnt be fucked with
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:53:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23073532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharknana29/pseuds/sharknana29
Summary: In a late Victorian London setting, the art of mad science has risen above all.A small company struggles to make ends meet.They struggle even more to stay alive.
Relationships: Flo Bones & George Cubbins, Lucy Carlyle/Anthony Lockwood
Comments: 11
Kudos: 24





	1. Foundations

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to @maddayyyy on discord for helping me with the idea and being a beta reader! you're the best fam.

Lucy stopped in front of the nearest shop window, desperately trying to readjust the sharp, long hat pin that had been run through her hair rat. Despite the package's guarantee that the pin wouldn't move, its slick surface was continually shifting and nearly falling out. She supposed this was karma for not looking into which products were highly recommended and simply purchasing the first visually appealing pin she could find after a job interviewer informed her of the latest fashions, suggesting that she follow them.

There was only one place left to look for new employment before she tucked her tail between her legs and bought a train ticket back to her small town. Located at 35 Portland Row, a quiet-looking residential street with the newest homes and the safest innovations, Lucy walked up to her final interview of the week. The front gate had a small wooden sign with the engraved logo of the service: A. J. Lockwood & Co., Scientific Solutions. The stone brick path leading up to the door amplified her footsteps tenfold, or so it seemed as she readied herself to knock. 

To her surprise, the moment Lucy raised her fist to the door, it was thrown open, a gentleman storming out. Another man, this one remarkable well dressed, followed him, but instead of crossing the threshold of the doorway, he sighed resignedly, not even noticing Lucy's presence. 

"Err, hello? I'm here about the job opening?" Lucy wasn't sure if the man was the A. J. Lockwood from the sign, but she was clearly at the right address from the newspaper ad. 

The man's face brightened suddenly at the sound of her voice. "Ah, yes. Please do come in."

On the other side of London, a sinister deed was being performed. A man, skin glowing an unnatural gold, injected the world-famous Penelope Fittes with the serums that kept her alive.

"Please, sir, I haven't told a soul!" the boy cried. Bickerstaff ignored his pleas and secured the teenager's arms to the operating table.

"You should have known better than to get caught up with those Orpheus people, boy."

The threat veiled by the affectionate term rang in the hidden room. Moments later, screams joined it.

There was another grindylow on the other bank of the river. They were easy to spot, towering over the unmodified humans and out of place with their gray-green skin. Flo squatted down into the river bank and pulled her hat further down, trying to avoid notice. She refused to fight against her own, but she wasn't going to join the others had started out of anger any time soon. They had signed the same paperwork she had, but they were too sick, desperate, or stupid to even glance over them beforehand. They didn't realize the risks they had taken.

Flo did.


	2. Leap of Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks again to @maddayyyy on discord for being a most encouraging beta reader

Anthony Lockwood had introduced Lucy to the final employee of Lockwood & Co. George Cubbins, a man with little charm and even fewer manners. His presence irritated her more than she could really comprehend. 

In direct contrast to this George Cubbins was Mr. Lockwood himself. He had the charisma and grace of a radio personality, with the wolfish good looks of a dancer one of Lucy’s sisters had admired years ago. He had conducted the majority of her interview, George coming in occasionally to critique everything from her measuring techniques to the way she positioned a slide on a microscope. Lucy’s irritation only grew, until she finally tore the hatpin out of its place and threatened him with it. Lockwood had, of course, interfered before she had a chance to strike.

Lucy braced herself for a reprimanding, ready to get herded out immediately. Instead, she was rewarded with a sad smile. 

“It’s good to see you’re quick to draw. With what we do, that’s essential.”

She raised her head in shock. “What? You aren’t mad?”

George butted in. “Frankly, I’m pissed.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, but settled in for the rest of the interview, sure that she would one day develop an immunity to the man with the glasses. 

* * *

Quill Kipps was not an unusual man. He worked as an apprentice for a scientist renowned for his secrecy. He was kind enough to assist those younger than him. He felt confident in his abilities as a steam engineer. 

Others were not so confident in him. When they saw the knotted sleeve that hung limp above where the elbow should have been on his uniform, they pitied him. They thought he had fought in some kind of war. Some even believed that he had lost it in an accident of his own cause.

This, however, was not the case.

* * *

What Mr. Fairfax had proposed was a unique, but not impossible task for the Orpheus Society. The young woman, styled in the New Woman fashion, was laid on a reclining chair, already prepared for revival. The only change in the standard procedure? The client wished for the woman’s memory to be erased, needlessly endangering her life. The erasure would have to happen before the revival process, which should be performed as soon as possible to keep the person’s life source from attaching itself to a certain object.

Of course, if nothing went wrong, the Society's actions would be greatly rewarded.

* * *

Miss Holly Munro was stuck on a window sill. She cursed her bustle and continued attempting to squeeze her lower body through the window. 

There was a crash, followed by a scream, behind her. The nearing threat made Holly push even harder against the poorly oiled window. Her key ring jangled, suspended by a belt at her waist but hanging in the open air, forcing her to move more slowly. She wished there was something that she could do for the others. She wished she wasn’t so selfish. 

And then she was free-falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you stick around for more! this thing is gonna take A While to finish lol


	3. Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the thanks to @maddayyyy on discord for beta-ing this chapter, you're amazing

Lucy was finally becoming comfortable with the proceedings of Lockwood & Co. Admittedly, their quirks were, well, quite _obvious_ . George, who had turned out to be less of a pain than expected, was constantly trying to _fix_ the experiments that we had been hired to clean up or otherwise remove. They roamed the expansive house on their own accord, but even the ones that weren’t able to move could be found in any number of strange, inconvenient, or downright terrifying places. Lockwood swears that once he had found a disembodied hand at the kitchen table.

Lockwood himself was not devoid of strange habits. While George’s small pet projects near drove him mad, Lockwood had his own tendencies to pop into rooms unannounced to ask questions which were easily answered by a look in a cabinet. While she knew that the habit had no ulterior motives, Lucy had realized soon enough that if she was to bathe or change, she had to lock the door to her room. He also holed himself away in the basement, training in combat, something that was only occasionally used in our field of work.

Lucy didn’t know much about this strange, bustling society of London, but she did know that she was going to be very happy there.

* * *

Kipps had been working late one night, certain he had reached a breakthrough. There was no one left in the workshop, just himself and some revolutionary ideas. A certain smell had been leaking into the air for a good amount of time, but the mask that Kipps wore deprived him of all scent and hearing.

Somehow, somewhere, something exploded. He had never figured out what. It had knocked him off his feet and set off a chain reaction. Soon the flames grew nearer and circled around him. They caught his own project alight, and that had been the final straw.

He began to run. More things began to burn, none of which he recognized then. As he reached the door, a reactor of some kind exploded. The debris from it lodged itself into his arm, causing a pain so sharp he lost feeling in that arm.

After that, he could remember nothing. According to Kat, she and Ned had been nearby and saw the smoke. They had rushed in and seen him steps away from the main entry, passed out with one arm nearly torn off. Moving him had finished it off, tearing it just above the elbow. Sometimes he still felt its weight, still felt the way it could _almost_ reach something.

* * *

The next time Flo saw a fellow grindylow, she had been with a mudlark. She was giving him her opinion on how much he could con a businessman to pay for a lump of coal to run any number of his personal devices. She steered the lark away, trying to avoid the beast’s sight. Flo realized this was impossible once she heard the footsteps, magnified just a bit, moving towards her.

She bent over to whisper into her companion’s ear. “When the guy behind us starts runnin’ I want you ta bolt. I’ll try to get him offa you.”

The man nodded, knowing better than to get in the middle of two grindylows. The result was always worse than that of a cock or dog fight.

The footsteps turn into the pounding of bare feet on cobblestone. Flo turns swiftly, not a second glance at the mudlark, knowing he values his own skin over hers. She plunges into the crowd of the late morning strollers, knife clutched in her over-large hands. The crowd wouldn’t hide her, but it would hinder the beast in pursuit.

* * *

A boy, a monster, a pity. All things those bastards on the street thought as he walked the streets of London. The blood had mostly clotted up, and the clothes he currently wore were as clean as anything else he owned. What really drew people’s attention was his head, held in one arm.


End file.
